A crisp winters day in Lincoln.....

Lincoln - just love it here, and here is why....

Autumn in Lincoln...
Gorgeous view over West Common, travelling along the old point to point racecourse

Photos below taken from a Narrowboat moored on the Lincoln Brayford Marina, one particularly beautiful evening (and Merv and Debbie's wedding day!!) 

Because I am feeling lonely....

At Home....Missing You.....

When two hearts beat as one,

when two souls meet at last,

and your life melts into my own,

I know that you are home.....

For now I feel you are a part of me,

a missing section to the whole.

A puzzle piece I sought to find,

a dream come true, now you are home....

I had not dared to believe such love be shown,

that I was worthy of such devotion.

I had once asked aloud for a love of my own,

and here you are now....in my home!

Crazy is this feeling, amazing in its glory,

how I can feel like a teenage kid

as we write our lovers story.

Daily it improves, as fun we have, here in our home!

But now and then you have to leave,

and the nest it is forsaken.

My heart weeps for missing you,

it yearns, it craves, for it is taken.

Come home, my love...my love, come home!

November 17^th 2014

my love is working away once more....

My garden last Spring (not so photogenic now!!)

The home we aspire to have - one built by our own hands!!

see www.abundantearthcommunity.co.uk

Writing poetry...my inspiration

http://imaginethepoetnations.blogspot.co.uk

A Bottle Full of Memory

Encapsulated, contained and precious

in every drop.

The sights, the sounds, the warm breeze

on my skin and in my hair,

the smell of a summer’s day.

The flight and song of a chorus of birds,

whilst insects scurry and annoy,

the tastes of cool drinks,

and creamy ice cream with vibrant, delicious chocolatey coating.

The feel of hot plastic beneath my legs

and on my back, smooth but sticky,

and forever the sun burns down,

a pain on flesh but a delight to the sense.

At this moment, a summers day reality

I bask in all its glory,

all its comfort, all its familiarity,

knowing that

oh.....all too soon,

the memory will be just that....

and the bottle is broken

12th June 2014

Miraz, Spain

Just wanted to share this little piece - my very first!!! I had always thought that I couldn't write 'poems' but one day whilst on Camino I had quite a lot of time to kill, and nothing else to do other than use a pen and paper that was in front of me.....and hey presto!!  

In the grand scheme of things its probably rubbish, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and surprised myself!!

Quite a message here to ourselves, why not have a go sometimes at things we think we just can't do, you might be surprised!!

I have had a few lows and stresses since this summers day - and have found that getting out the pen and paper and just letting the words flow, has indeed helped me considerably to find a way to cope.

A Camino Gift

A Camino Gift.....

“Come on, join with me, come on Camino de Santiago

and experience one of life’s treasures,

who knows what lies ahead for you,

but it will be special, I promise”....He said.

Without hesitation “OK” I replied

already happy to take up challenges

and life’s adventures, and to see what gifts may be

bestowed upon me also, upon Camino.

And so we prepared, and time quickly took us there

and off to Pamplona we travelled for our Camino,

for our adventure, for our challenges

and for our test of character and love.

The journey proved just that, a test,

a test of stamina, of energy, of patience and true love,

and yet there came an abundance

of gifts to make each step worthwhile.

We experienced the gifts of friends, of nature,

of new tastes, new sounds and sights,

of synchronicity and stories to delight,

and of a love deepening inside.

We came, we conquered and befriended the Camino,

who blessed us with its love,

who blessed us with so many gifts

its hard to name just one.

And so the journey on Camino is over,

yet its spirit will forever live

in our hearts, our minds and photos,

and in the new friends we now have,

and in our love, which found its strength

and deepened within every Camino step and challenge

but the journey indeed is never over, the Camino never ended,

for the spirit will urge us onwards

to live each day the Camino Way.....

Back from an extended adventure!!! Camino Magic and Glastonbury Mud!!

Wow, 6 weeks can disappear in the blink of an eye!! I have been away since the end of May and now its 9th July....and it all feels like yesterday!!

SOOO much to share/photos to include and synchronicity you won't believe...but so little time as usual...but I will share this with you as I just came across it and it reminded me to update this blog!! :)

At the wonderful, magical, muddy Glastonbury I wrote the following ode...and took photos..
enjoy:

An Ode to Glasto......

Summer fun with some sun, some laughter, 
looks and sounds that rip and run....
in your ears and round and out
and stimulate to excite, 
so every bone moves about...

so much to see, so much to do
so much to taste and chew,
so much to buy..... to covet too!!

Friends to make, stories to share,
gasps of wonder and stops to stare....
Outrageous outfits, and crazy hair!

Men in drag and girls in well....
next to nothing...
while you look like hell
but do you care? No...
never here, for Glasto means you always dare
to add a layer of colour and of course,
a silk flower to your hair.....

But Glasto never fails to add
the Yang to Ying,
the downside to the glorying...
the rain to the burning,
the toilets always too far away,
and the hell they display...
......"I'll go another day"!!

The overpriced food,
the expensive drink,
the cheap clothes I want.....I think...
The crowds, that maddening throng....
people with whom you just have to get along!

The pushes, the shoves, the drunken louts,
the wasted girls, and those who shout.
Those who wake and talk loud too early,
those who don't sleep and seem to keep
going all night, well......nearly!!

The tents packed in so neat and then....
you look and there's another ten,
on a spot of land you thought was full!!
The guy ropes criss crossing, 
a maze of colour and shape,
with flags, and chairs, and hazard tape!

Except the tape is long forgotten,
pushed aside and trapped under tents
that block your path...
how you find the loos now... 
is going to be a laugh!!

Oh, and did i mention the rain.....
that beats down on your tent and dulls your brain....
the rain that runs into little streams
down the hill, and drips and seeps into every gap
so your clothes get damp...
and here comes the chill....
try keeping warm you feel like that!!

And with the rain comes the mud....
the glorious mud that almost as if by magic
becomes knee deep, and clings and clogs
and splashes up onto your clothes...
so splattered and tattered is now in vogue!

But...do we care?....
No....Never!
For all the madness, all the mud, all the music, 
for all the stuff that just makes you feel good

these add to the magic that you just can't explain..
you just can't make real the thrill,
the sights, the sounds, the fun
the experiences you share even still.....

Glastonbury....we adore you....we love you...
we crave you..... You are our drug...
we will be back.....
you know we will......

It's the month of May...and its been glorious so far.  Lincoln is a lovely place to live, quite sheltered, green, healthy and cultural with quite a fair share of zany people to make it interesting...  some photos to share to reflect all that is wonderful where I live....

 The Buccaneer's Ball - fundraising for Lincs2Nepal....

great chance to dress up and everyone did!!

Loving Synchronicity especially when it overflows....I am working on an outreach project called Revival Gainsborough (based on our Revival Lincolnshire project, here in Lincoln) - I happened to be at a function sitting next to Gainsborough's Mayor, Cllr Rollings, after I talked about Revival she asked if I would be interested in holding workshops in the Council building, housed in a beautiful estate in the middle of Gainsborough and would I like to attend a Council event, showcasing local community groups.  Think the answers were easy!! Whilst attending this showcase event another councillor offered us a further £1.000 towards our work and we were offered space in yet another building in the town. All because I was sat next to the Mayor at a meal.......  Loving it....

End of April and another synchronistic moment squeezed in....

Had a lovely day today, April sunshine and showers and time spent with good friends.... I organise workshops to aid health and wellbeing,  I arrange either healthy eating/cooking/exercise or therapeutic crafts workshops to anyone who wants to come and join in, and thanks to LPFT/NHS funding the workshop, any materials and refreshments are free.  

Today's workshop was making up cute little craft items that come free with Mollie Makes... donated to us a little while back.  I brought along just enough for one each (not careful planning, just synchronicity!!) , and each person was delighted with their pack and over the 2 hours about finished them.  We chatted while we were sewing, all sorts of random topics, and laughed, drank tea and ate jaffa cakes....perfect for improving our wellbeing!

At the end of the session, instead of heading back to our usual car parking area, PW had parked right across the other side of the City (to save the £6.50 parking charge!!) en route, i spotted a 'Friend of Revival' (Revival is a project that I manage, but which is relocating at the moment, long story....) and so stopped for a chat with Amy - big hugs followed and a catch up on where Revival is moving to etc - during this chat I spotted another Friend of Revival, Lauren with baby Alfie, so quick catch up with them......very quickly followed by another Revival volunteer - Stuart, and then Kylie.... 

Couldn't believe that by going a different route and standing in the High Street for just 10 minutes I would see 4 special people and have the chance to catch up with them all..... Loving the synchronicity of this experience, but more was to come..

Once we had chatted with Amy about the relocation plans, we got onto our plans for Abundant Earth Community (housing and worker co-operatives....will share much more on this later, if you can't wait see our Facebook Page plus blogspot..) it turns out that not only is Amy very interested in both these concepts, but knows lots of other people who will also be interested, I had forgotten that she has herbal skills that could certainly be used to great benefit as part of the project....and then she shared the magic.... she just happened to mention homes built with hemp bricks....I stopped her there and then, Hemp Bricks!! I had never heard of them but new that hemp was popular as a fabric and in Body Shop, so this had to be interesting!!  WOW - what a great idea!! Will have to investigate this one further as yet another material to consider for our 'self build/low carbon' housing project!! Don't suppose anyone reading this has any experience of building with hemp bricks now do they??? that really would be synchronistic!! :)

Thought I would share this photo too, took it straight after the workshop, its the St Barnabas charity Shop next to Soundlincs where we meet - and i am LOVING what they are doing with their window displays.  This Mad Hatters Tea Party has to be one of the best so far!!

The Arboretum in Lincoln - on a glorious Spring day  

makes you feel good to be alive!!